It is known to combine a cover blank of paper and a tray blank of heavy card to manufacture a tray. The card is used to provide form and strength, and the paper cover is bonded to the card thereby providing structural integrity to the tray blank at the corners. In one prior construction an entire surface of the cover blank is bonded to the tray blank. The cover can be decorative so as to provide an attractive external appearance to the tray. Such trays are typically used as part of boxes for goods such as spirits, cosmetics, shoes, clothes, tobacco, toys, gifts, games and other household products. Typically such a tray is pre-assembled and delivered to a goods manufacturer or distributor ready for use.
It is further known to provide a blank of medium weight card which can be folded into the shape of a tray. Such a tray has numerous flaps and locking tabs which interlock with cut-outs to permit the tray to be erected with or without the requirement for adhesive. Typically such a tray is delivered flat to a manufacturer for assembly at the point of packaging of the goods. This type of cardboard tray is cheaper to manufacture and distribute than the tray having a paper cover. The medium weight card can be decorated, but the tray assembled therefrom is typically not as strong as the tray having an adhesively attached paper cover.
Some disadvantages are associated with the prior trays. Raw card is often exposed on the inside of the trays which is a drawback when the tray is used for presenting expensive or luxury items. The raw card may be covered by a separate lightweight cover for decoration purposes which is glued flat to the inside of the tray but this increases the manufacturing costs and may provide a non uniform appearance to the inside of the tray. In the case of the tray with a paper cover, the requirement for an entire surface of the cover to be bonded to the card increases manufacturing costs.
Both prior types of trays are often decorated to enhance their visual appearance. In the case of the paper cover the requirement for complete bonding imposes limitations on the material and decorating methods. Often the cover material is embossed prior to bonding, but the adhesive used tends to reduce the embossing effect, which is undesirable. Furthermore the paper that has the required functional characteristics for the cover cannot accept deep raised embossing, due to cracking, but such deep embossing is a desirable decorative feature. The paper cover may also be discoloured by the adhesive used. Embossing may be outward and/or inward of the tray.
When manufacturing trays of this kind it is often desirable to pre-crease the paper and/or card to aid assembly and reduce cracking or distortion at fold lines. The paper cover material does not crease well since it is a light weight material. A heavier cover material can be used to improve the creasability but this often results in a puffy appearance of a finished tray.
What is required is an improved tray.